Shloka 83
Devanagari script
नराश्चगजसम्बाधे नराश्चगजसादिनाम् | लोहितोदा महाघोरा मांसशोणितकर्दमा
Transliteration
narāś ca gaja-sambādhe narāś ca gaja-sādinām | lohitodā mahāghorā māṁsa-śoṇita-kardamā ||
Translation
サञ्जयは言った。「人と象が押し合うその密集の中――象に乗る者たちと人々の中で――地は恐るべき血の赤い氾濫となり、肉と血の泥濘と化した。」
Word by Word
नराःmen
नराः:
Karta
TypeNoun
Rootनर
FormMasculine, Nominative, Plural
चand
च:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootच
गजसम्बाधेin the press/throng of elephants
गजसम्बाधे:
Adhikarana
TypeNoun
Rootगजसम्बाध
FormMasculine/Neuter, Locative, Singular
नराःmen
नराः:
Karta
TypeNoun
Rootनर
FormMasculine, Nominative, Plural
चand
च:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootच
गजसादिनाम्of the elephant-smiters/elephant-slayers
गजसादिनाम्:
TypeNoun
Rootगजसादिन्
FormMasculine, Genitive, Plural
लोहितोदाhaving red water (blood as its water)
लोहितोदा:
Karta
TypeAdjective
Rootलोहित-उदा
FormFeminine, Nominative, Singular
महाघोराvery terrible
महाघोरा:
TypeAdjective
Rootमहाघोर
FormFeminine, Nominative, Singular
मांसशोणितकर्दमाmuddy with flesh and blood
मांसशोणितकर्दमा:
TypeAdjective
Rootमांस-शोणित-कर्दम
FormFeminine, Nominative, Singular
Speaker
संजय उवाच
Characters & Entities
S
SañjayaM
men/warriors (narāḥ)E
elephants (gajāḥ)E
elephant-riders (gaja-sādināḥ)Character Dynamics
Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)
War Context
Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)
Philosophical Teaching
Political Layer
Geographic Context
Meter (Chandas)
Sandhi Notes
Educational Q&A
The verse functions as a moral indictment of war’s dehumanizing force: when conflict is fueled by adharma—anger, pride, and greed—it culminates in indiscriminate destruction where distinctions of rank and power collapse into shared suffering.
Sañjaya narrates the battlefield at a moment of intense mêlée involving infantry and elephants. The fighting is so severe that the area becomes congested with men and elephants, and the ground is described as flooded with blood and turned into a mire of flesh and gore.